Laura Forman
14 January - 18 March 2017
Press Release
Underlying Forman’s favored subjects is her interest in the endearing history of humankind’s efforts to create order from chaos and the collective existeantial melancholy of the present day.
The latest works by Laura Forman are exquisitely rendered using pastels and graphite on paper, as well as polystyrene bead foam and Foam Coat, sanded to a porcelain-like finish. There is a striking diversity among the objects, which include a Victorian fainting couch, a dramatic rendering of a cape, and a confessional booth surrounded by the meticulous chalkboard scribblings of Euler’s Formula; a mathematical equation noted for its particular aesthetic beauty. The centerpiece of the exhibition is a sensitively sculpted rendition of a baby’s foot, a freestanding anatomical behemoth magnified to nearly 4 feet high.
Underlying Forman’s favored subjects is her interest in the endearing history of humankind’s efforts to create order from chaos and the collective existeantial melancholy of the present day. In a particularly poignant yet amusing triptych, the artist combines drawings of Trinity-Plutonium Implosion Fission (a reference to nuclear weaponry), A Schnattlacher ProNose (a rubber clown’s nose) and Parmenides Unitary Theory of Being, (a theory about the nature of existence from ancient Greece). As is the case with the other work in the show, this type of visual hyperbole and dialogue between elements allows the artist to strike an empathetic and sometimes humorous chord, even with subjects as complex as these.
Laura Forman is a multimedia artist working primarily in sculpture, drawing, and painting. She received her BFA from CalArts in 2005 and is the former studio assistant to artists Charles Gaines and Mike Kelley. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, the artist lives and maintains a studio in Los Angeles.
Laura Forman
Untitled, 2016
pastel on archival board
signed by the artist on verso, unique
61.5 x 41.5 inches